Rita's Sister
by Wkdly.Rita
Summary: Linked with previous stories that I've written- about Rita's sister, Willow.


It had been fifteen long days since she'd gotten loose. The initial ecstasy that accompanied her freedom had long since vanished, and both dogs were aching and tired. Willow had experienced hunger before- those humans had never cared to provide for her adequately, but this was different, exacerbated by the exhaustion from her travels. The thin, scruffy hound, collapsed on the ground. She'd lived in New York City all her life, but between the apartment of her puppyhood and the filthy yard in which she'd been chained for the past three years, she'd barely seen any of it. One could not exactly say that she was lost, Willow had nowhere in particular to go to anyway, but she was still struggling to get her bearings in the enormous, bustling city. There was nowhere peaceful. Her experiences had led Willow to fear and hate humans, she'd made her mind up never to be so naïve as to put her trust in one again- but here she found she could hardly get away from them, and the last time she attempted to move into less inhabited areas she'd gotten into trouble with canines of a far more threatening nature. Willow had not actually been on her own for the whole fifteen days, initially her companion, a Pit Bull mix, had travelled with her only to have been separated in the run in with that gang of dogs. The nervous and flighty Willow had bolted at the first sign of trouble, and was fast enough to get away without much difficulty, but Flash wasn't the sort for running from trouble, and Willow was certain that she'd have stood her ground. Willow shuddered, hoping that her friend had managed to get away safely.

By this time, the sun was beginning to set and Willow began to head towards the docks, away from the glaring lights and unfriendly humans that lined the streets. She was desperate to find somewhere she could rest comfortably. As she came across a seemingly deserted warehouse, Willow was overcome by the strong scent of dog. She raised her hackles as she realised that she was not alone.

"Hiya hot stuff," came a smug voice from behind her.

Willow spun around, shaken. A mutt was standing there, leaning against a wooden crate, smirking. There was obviously a lot of terrier in him; he had rough, wiry fur in brown and grey patches against the white. Willow lifted her lip and uttered a low, rumbling growl. Her stomach had dropped at the sound of his voice, terrified of getting into another incident with savage street dogs. The arrogance in his voice, posture, expression put her on guard. She could not trust this stranger.

"Stay back," she growled, uncomfortably aware that she was backed against a wall with very limited means of escape.

"Woah, I'm not about to hurt a beautiful woman like you," he winked, still smug. "Name's Dodger. You on your way to Murphy's?"

Willow noticed the strange way he stared at her, almost as if there were some recognition there.

"I- I'm not going anywhere." She glanced around, trying to work out the easiest escape route if the strange mutt came closer. "What is this 'Murphy's'?"

"You're new around here, right? I'll show you 'round." Somehow there was even smugness in his walk.

Willow was just about to make a dash when she was stopped in her tracks by the voice of an approaching newcomer.

"Dodgie-baby!" A second female carried on towards them. "Come on, we gotta get back, Fagin's gonna be missing us." She barely glanced at Willow, but Willow stared at her, scarcely able to believe what she was seeing.

Then Willow remembered. _Dodger_. She'd heard that name before. "Rita?"

Caught off guard by the stranger's recognition, Rita actually looked at her properly for the first time. Her eyes widened as she saw her younger sister standing there- and there was no doubt that it was her, Rita would recognise her anywhere. She nodded.

"Will-" she shook her head, wondering how this was even possible. "Willow, how, how are you… here?" Getting over the initial surprise, Rita's eyes lit up in excitement and her tail began to wag.

"What, this is your sister? That Willow?" Dodger asked, although he needed only to look at them to tell they were related.

Willow was filled with relief at the sight of a familiar face, though she could not bring herself to lower her guard completely. Three years had passed, she could not honestly say that she really knew Rita anymore. Even when they'd last seen each other they'd not been on great terms, and Willow still felt resentment towards her sister for all that had happened when they were pups. For all Willow knew, Rita could be no better than the lowlifes she'd encountered earlier.

"I got out a couple weeks ago, I've been wandering the streets since then."

"So, you found a home?" Rita was keen to hear what had happened to her younger sister. She'd feared for her a great deal since she'd seen her last.

"I don't think you could call it a home." Willow grimaced. "But then, humans are scum, what would you expect? Anyhow, I don't want to talk about it. I just want to find somewhere to sleep where I can actually get some peace." She looked questioningly at Rita, desperately hoping for some help.

"You're not gonna want to come home with us then, we've got a human." Rita sighed.

"A human? Aren't you street dogs?" Willow was surprised, and her heart dropped as she realised she couldn't take refuge in Rita's home.

"He's a street human," said Dodger. "He's harmless, and he'll be happy to provide you with biscuits, but yeah, still human."

Rita turned to Dodger. "Dodge, do you wanna head home? I'll stay and sort Willow out."

"Sure," Dodger replied, and turned to head off. "I'll see ya later then."

Willow watched after him as he left. "Is your mutt always this full of himself?"

Rita cracked up laughing. "You have no idea. Really, he's a good guy, he's the smartest dog I know- but yeah, he's got a big ego."

"Do women actually get taken in by that flirting?"

"All the time, and obviously that only makes him worse." Rita rolled her eyes.

Willow managed to crack a half smile.

"If you don't want to be around any humans, you're probably best stopping at Murphy's place. You see that warehouse over there? Loads of dogs go there to sleep or just to hang out. It's real friendly, dogs just come and go and there are never any issues. No humans either. Murphy likes them about as much as you do." Rita said, and started towards the building with Willow close behind her. She noticed the nervousness in Willow's face. "If you want to be left alone, they'll leave you be. But you'll be safer in there than out here by yourself."

Willow nodded, still unsure, but really she could not see a better option. As they reached the entrance, her hackles raised defensively.

A large, shaggy grey-brown dog greeted them at the doorway.

"Hi Murphy, Willow's in need of a safe place to rest." She motioned towards her sister with a shake of her head. "If you could help her find somewhere quiet, without too many other dogs-"

"No problem, Rita." Murphy turned to Willow. "You're not wanting to take your chances with their human I take it?" he scoffed. "A wise choice, most of us round here disassociate ourselves with humans for good reason. Don't worry, I'll find you a quiet place."

Willow followed Murphy in, past several small parties of dogs who were animatedly chattering amongst themselves.

"I'll be back round here tomorrow. See ya, Willow!" Rita called out, and went on her way.

Murphy led Willow to a quiet corner, away from the hustle and bustle of the other residents. Willow lay down onto a pile of raggedly cushions.

"Thank you." She was still not entirely comfortable with the stranger, but she was grateful for the comfortable place to bed down, it was more than she could have hoped for just a few hours ago. After Murphy left, she laid her head down and closed her eyes. She tried not to concentrate on the strong smell of strange dogs that hung in the air. Willow was stunned by the turn of events- she'd hardly given a second thought to Rita since she ran away, the chances of finding her in a city of this size were so low it was crazy, but still there she was. Willow supposed that Rita seemed nice enough, not that she had much to go on. Still, this was the same person who'd left Willow to be thrown in the pound with not so much as a second thought, just so she could run off with that stupid, smug little mutt. Willow could not lie awake thinking for long, exhaustion quickly overcame her and within two minutes she was fast asleep.

* * *

Rita wandered home rather aimlessly, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened. She'd assumed Willow to be dead- with no home to go to, she would have been either dumped on the streets or sent to the pound three years ago. It was a relief to know that Willow was safe; Rita had been plagued with guilt after realising that she could have prevented all that had she not been so caught up in her own little world with Dodger, but this meant that she'd have to actually confront it with her at some point. Still, it was a chance to make things right. Realising that the skies were now very dark, Rita sped up, keen to get home.


End file.
